Chris Spielman's Penn State vs. Iowa commentary

I normally try not the listen to anything said during a game
from a color commentator, especially from the ESPN crew. The Non-Penn State alumni exceptions are Kirk
Herbstreit, Urban Meyer and Chris Spielman.
This past weekend we got an interesting mix for the Penn State/Iowa
game. Spielman was in the booth with
Urban Meyer and it was the most interesting commentary I've heard in a long
time.

In most games, the color commentators give some superfluous
comments about Joe Paterno and how Penn State does things the "right" way. They almost always do a "How old is Joe
Paterno?" bit as well. This game's
commentary was very different; it was refreshing, but also cringe-worthy at
times.

Some believe Saturday is redemption time for Rob Bolden against Alabama. JOE HERMITT, The Patriot-News, 2010

Spielman, the former Ohio State Buckeye who is a college
football hall-of-famer and NFL pro-bowler, was as vocal as any announcer I have
ever heard regarding Penn State's offensive players and play calling. For the better part of four quarters, Spielman
harped on Rob Bolden's inaccurate passing, McGloin's ability to lead the team
and Penn State's questionable play calling.

Spielman also harped on the number of tipped passes that
Penn State's wide outs were miraculously able to hold onto. I thought it was a great turning point for
the wide receivers as a whole. The
tipped passes they were catching displayed a level of concentration that seemed
to be lacking in the other games.

Spielman spent a good amount of time commenting on Bolden's
inconsistencies and inaccuracies. One
comment that stood out was how Bolden didn't make a single pass over five (5)
yards in Thursday's practice. In
Bolden's defense, Iowa employed a much higher number of blitzes that were not
seen in their previous games. However,
Bolden did miss some easy passes and there is no excusing that. (Also,
am I the only one who loved the fact that he ran the ball a couple of times?) By the end of the game, Spielman was
lobbying for McGloin to get the starting nod harder than most politicians
running for office. His borderline diatribe
was only fueled by Urban Meyer's agreement.

Meyer has been great as an analyst. He did give Joe Paterno
a rather big adulation by calling Paterno "The Greatest College Football Coach
Ever". Spielman countered later in the
game calling Jim Tressel a "great" coach as well. It was a cringe-worthy statement, but also an
odd one because Spielman has been very vocal against what has transpired at
OSU. A Bucknut is a Bucknut I guess...

Back to Meyer, who has been stiff at times in the booth, but
also very insightful as to what a coach is thinking in certain situations. For instance, the play before Penn State's
touchdown, Meyer provided a coach's perspective on play calling in 3rd
down situations. He saw that the
interior defensive line was having a hard time stopping the run, which Galen
Hall and Jay Paterno deduced as well.
The next play was a great run, right up the middle. It was a play where Spielman and he disagreed
on. It was one of several play-calling
disagreements they had during the game. Meyer did have some "What are they thinking?"
moments for Penn State's offensive game plan, which was warranted for the lack
of red zone production.

On a related note, something must have clicked for the
offensive line. They seemed to open
holes all day long for the running game.
Dukes looked like the beast we all seemed to think he was. Silas kept on moving the ball at big chunks of
yardage almost every time he touched the ball.
And finally, Joe Suhey is the most underappreciated player on this team! He has done a great job out of the backfield
as a receiver.

Finally, for all the
"Urban Meyer is Penn State's next head coach" conspiracy theorists out there,
of which, I am one (kind of)...

Yes, Meyer was wearing a blue and white tie, lavishly
praised JoePa and all while slipping up and saying "Our wide receivers"
or something to that effect. So
obviously he and Tim Curly have negotiated a contract and it is a done deal,
right? The way some of you out there are
talking, it sounds like the Illuminati, in conjunction with Yale's Skull and
Bones, have pre-ordained his coaching status at Penn State. If anything, it will be fun hearing the "Jay
Paterno will be the next Penn State Head Coach" conspiracy theorists argue
against this theory. Of course, Ohio State,
where Meyer was an assistant, still has something to say about this theory as
well. Either way, it is better than the
constant "Is Joe Coming Back?" talk.

Canz would love to
hear from you regarding how wrong he is.
He can be reached at the very juvenile email address, CanztheMoose@yahoo.com. Or
you can harass him on Twitter!